Photographed at The University of Houston:Time Capsule Monument, to be opened 2026.The Statue of Four Lies:

The First Lie, perhaps can be found, in choosing one of these extremes alone---The Philosopher Versus The Engineer:he who questions, instead of, he who constructs.

One without the assistance and harmony of the other,would it ultimately lead to failure, horror, or dissatisfaction?

The Next Three Falsehoods: The Inscription Reads:"False in OneFalse in AllFalse in Nothing"

Believing in only yourself, is untrue: this rules out solipsism.Believing in everything around you, rules out pure materialism.Believing in nothing or nihilism, too, is a falsehood.Because reality is ultimately a combination of all these things.Finally, the conclusion suggests:"The World wants to be deceived,therefore, let them be deceived."

What do you guys think all this means? Is there some truth to it, do you reckon?

I must admit, I'm utterly fascinated with the entire thing... whether or not my assumptions and interpretations are correct, the existence and the discovery of this particular monument/statues/Latin inscriptions have completely inspired my artistic and philosophical need to create and speak more than I ever have before... But to what end, I wonder?

Hope you all are doing well, I'm trudging through my first month at my new school. Everything is hectic, chaotic, and I'm not really sure I can even remotely control the circumstances of my life enough to give it the direction it needs. This crushing weight of the immense responsibility of being an adult... Of having to make difficult choices and compromise loosely held ethical principles at every turn does cause me to become a tad bit pessimistic... But I resolve to go forth and fail, aiming to learn from my mistakes instead of being thrown backwards by them!

I don't have an excuse, I never have excuses. I have reasons for this and I know exactly what they are and I even know why I acted as I did. I just unraveled, the pressure and the nervousness and the stage fright.... I get it every time I need to speak, when words need to be spoken and I just can't say them. The same thing each time, I am tested upon and each time I fail... what makes this one any different, other than what I choose to do about it? And that adds another kind of burden, that of responsibility. Whatever my life becomes, is because of me. I wanted things to escalate, but instead I collapsed. Self-destructed, pushed people away, isolated myself as much as I could and now... I'm truly alone. The silence isn't unbearable, the waiting is. So much stasis, not enough movement. I still wish to propel the future, to solidify that which I hold most dear. But how to do it when I am so racked with fear? Something that is well known to all that walk the left hand path, the possibility of surpassing all that you were and seizing all that you were meant to be.... and the other, less desired option: crumbling utterly, going insane, losing your grip on that ideal state of being you desired. I don't know which one I'll be. I suspect I'm pretty good with the latter, but I long for the former. I didn't do the ritual. And since then, my entire life has been, well, a huge mess. One that I don't know how to fix. It's as if someone is pulling the strings, the strings of my life and that someone isn't me. But, maybe there's an explanation for all this. Of course, it eludes me.

Currently wallowing in the pits of despair that comes with the continued realization that I'm lacking friends, people I can talk to about the things going on inside my mind. It's not they they aren't out there. There are plenty, I'm sure. But the problem is me. I don't want to get close to people, nor they to me. I want to keep everyone at a safe distance, while I live isolated completely. I wish I could say that I didn't know why I do these things, but I'm fairly certain that is not true. Granted, some people simply just cause revulsion within me, which is an acceptable reason to keep those types at a distance. But when its someone I greatly admire? I shy away from them even more. I minimize contact. Perhaps I simply don't want my illusions shattered. Or I don't want to fall short of their expectations or good graces. But who really cares about that? Would it crush me if I discovered I was disliked by others? Maybe not, I'm quite used to it after all. It is, of course, the quality of the person that matters. And if this person is held in high regard by me for whatever reason, their words or opinions would naturally carry greater weight. Am I just one so eager to attach myself slavishly to whatever prospect seems good? Can I not tell the difference between the two? Even if it is good, is this, too, not the abandonment of responsibility and the burden shouldered by someone else? Am I putting too much attachment to these people? They are only human after all. But that is the beauty of it, they seem to me to be an embodiment of perfection. That is why I admire them so. Because they are living proof of what I could become.

Attempting to vocalize an ineffable thought.... The need for recognition is going to kill me. What is meant by that? A variety of things. For one thing, the annihilation of the independence of self, and possibly, of individuation itself. It begins to collapse when it can no longer sustain itself by its own means. However, the process can be slowed if some outside encouragement is offered which causes one to be able continue on no matter the enormous difficulty of the task. Why is that?

All human beings receive recognition from the moment they are born, as they grow up and undergo a variety of changes which allows them to become what they are. This is inescapable, as it is part of coming into being. The reliance on such thing is a very terrible thing. So how do we avoid it? Can balance be maintained? Should advice and instruction always be acted upon? At what point does it become someone else's will? Perhaps it would be acceptable, nay, even noble, if the intentions were good and they can be. But what if they aren't?

How can we keep ourselves from going astray, but by knowing ourselves? And that is what stings the most. I know all this. Every second I act contrary to this, it feels worse and worse. Just when I stop to inwardly reflect on how far I've come, I realize that I haven't actually gone anywhere and the journey ahead keeps on continuing with no end in sight.

My quest towards the ideal isn't actualized yet, but it is the possibility that it could be—with work and effort in overcoming that which stands in the way which drives me. And what is that? Fear. Fear of what? Of being wrong and failing to meet expectations. Essentially, to not be what I wish or what I intend. The words clog in my throat, even when I know the answer, I am unable to speak because I'm afraid I'll be questioned further and further, trapped in a Socratic dialectic where speech fails me and my silence is reflective, representative of me.

But success cannot be attained unless the deed is done. The action itself is the only way triumph can be obtained. When one acts regardless of the outcome, that is what separates the two. The person who succeeds did so, knowing full well they could have failed and yet they did it despite the doubt. The person who fails the worse is the person who did not act at all, while the person who acted but failed merely needs more improvement... which cannot be acquired without experience.

I often wonder if it would be better to know one's fate than it would be to be left in complete ignorance of one's purpose in life. Some might even be so bold as to say we create our own fates and that would be no less true than any other answer, But, what if there were another answer? If things were pre-determined... that wouldn't necessarily mean I'd be utterly without choice for it would still be I choosing to do said actions. One the other hand, having the ability to create one's own future exactly as one chooses would be equally as taxing, since it would require one to be burdened with the responsibility that comes with being a creator. Each path is appealing in its own right, but which do I believe or prefer? Is not my own knowledge uncertain at times? Doubt creeps in, enveloping my entire being with both agony and despair. Inaction, being a direct consequence of that, is something I must ward and fortify myself against. This is difficult, however because I can't always tell why I do the things I do. I seem to be lacking some kind of foresight at the moment. The more I talk about the future the more unclear and uncertain it becomes in my mind's eye. And it terrifies me so. School starts again in a week. How much more is there left to learn? Maybe I truly don't know anything.